For Europe, it is reasonable to regard it as a new beginning for the trans-Atlantic relationship. However, after intensive interactions in Britain’s coastal county Cornwall and Brussels, European officials probably found that Trump’s influence is hard to be wiped out, and their relations are difficult to get back where they were.

The rifts and mistrust between the trans-Atlantic partners concerning a series of issues, from trade to regional and global affairs, still remain hard to fix in a long time.

Trade tensions continue to cast a shadow on their ties. Over four months since Biden took office, Washington has yet to abolish the aluminum and steel tariffs the former government slapped on Europe in the name of  “national security,” as upholders of the trade barrier are still politically lucrative for Biden.

The long-standing battle between their aircraft manufacturing giants Airbus and Boeing over government subsidies was temporarily concluded with only a five-year truce, and many experts in the industry sighed because the vague terms will lead the two sides to cross swords again.

It is not difficult to understand Europe was somehow disappointed as they had expected Biden would end the trade war swiftly, but it now turns out to be yet another thorny issue.

From the Group of Seven Summit to the EU-US Summit, Biden has tried to mend Washington’s relations with its European allies, and persuade them to forge a united front to compete with China and Russia. But some European countries, with concerns over their own interests, are less interested in joining the US-led alliance.

Just as Friedrich Merz, a politician of Germany’s Christian Democratic Union party, has warned, Biden’s policies would not deviate too much from Trump’s. A sober approach for Europe might be to pick up the catchphrase “strategic autonomy” again, especially after Biden’s victory.

The recent published Munich Security Report noted Europe must rethink and adjust its strategic and security reliance on the United States, as Washington has shifted its focus eastwards, and it needs to tackle some problems without the safe refuge of its old-time ally.

In other words, siding with the United States might not help, particularly in a time when solving problems need global actors beyond the West.

Sadly, many European politicians and media have been dwelling on the past and are keen on confrontation with China and Russia, following US Cold-War mentality.

In his new book titled “The Hypocritical Superpower,” Michael Lueders, a well-known German writer, reveals why European voices are prone to promote a trans-Atlantic alliance rather than a pragmatic attitude with China and Russia.

The Western media reports are somehow filtered by interest groups in the United States and used a certain framing that it is between “we western allies the good guys” against China and Russia “the evil ones,” Lueders explained.

“Under Joe Biden many things will change, but ‘America First’ will still continue,” Lueders wrote at the end of his book, and that is why Europe should step outside of the shadow of Washington. — Xinhua.

Source: https://www.herald.co.zw/why-europe-should-step-outside-shadow-of-us/

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BEIJING/TAIPEI, June 16 (Reuters) – China does not tolerate foreign forces intervening in Taiwan issues and has to make strong responses to such acts of “collusion”, the government said on Wednesday after the island reported the largest incursion to date of Chinese aircraft.

Twenty-eight Chinese air force aircraft, including fighters and nuclear-capable bombers, entered Taiwan’s air defence identification zone (ADIZ) on Tuesday, the Chinese-claimed island’s government said.

The incident came after the Group of Seven leaders issued a joint statement on Sunday scolding China for a series of issues and underscored the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, comments China condemned as “slander”.

Asked at a news conference whether the military activity was related to the G7 statement, Ma Xiaoguang, spokesman for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, said it was Taiwan’s government that was to blame for tensions. Beijing believes the island’s government is working with foreign countries to seek formal independence.

“We will never tolerate attempts to seek independence or wanton intervention in the Taiwan issue by foreign forces, so we need to make a strong response to these acts of collusion,” Ma said.

Democratically-ruled Taiwan has complained over the last few months of repeated missions by China’s air force near the island, concentrated in the southwestern part of its air defence zone near the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands.

However, this time not only did the Chinese aircraft fly in an area close to the Pratas Islands, but the bombers and some of the fighters flew around the southern part of Taiwan near the bottom tip of the island, according to Taiwan’s defence ministry.

The fly-by happened on the same day the U.S. Navy said a carrier group led by the USS Ronald Reagan had entered the disputed South China Sea.

“The Ronald Reagan Strike group did not interact with any Chinese military aircraft,” Carrier Strike Group 5 spokesperson Lt. Cmdr. Joe Keiley said in an emailed statement responding to questions on whether the Chinese aircraft had approached them.

“During the strike group’s South China Sea operations, all communications between ships and aircraft have been consistent with international norms and have not impacted our operations.”

A senior official familiar with Taiwan’s security planning told Reuters that officials believed China was sending a message to the United States as the carrier group sailed through the Bashi Channel, which separates Taiwan from the Philippines and leads into the South China Sea.

“It’s strategic intimidation of the U.S. military. They wanted the United States to notice their capability and for them to restrain their behaviour.”

Taiwan needs in particular to pay attention to the fact that China’s military has started conducting drills in Taiwan’s southeastern ADIZ, the source added.

This “to a certain degree was targeting our deployments in the east and increasing air defence pressure around our ADIZ”, the source said.

Taiwan’s east coast is home to two major air bases with hangers dug out of the side of mountains to provide protection in the event of a Chinese assault.

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/after-massed-plane-incursion-near-taiwan-china-says-must-respond-collusion-2021-06-16/?rpc=401&

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The Group of Seven leaders ended their summit on Sunday by demanding that Russia take action and investigate the use of chemical weapons within its territory and hold accountable those behind ransomware attacks and other cybercrimes.

Why it matters: The allied language come as all eyes turn to President Biden’s Wednesday meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Geneva.

The state of play: The leaders called on Russia to “end its systematic crackdown on independent civil society and media.”

• They also reiterated their support for Ukraine and pressed Russia to deescalate tensions between the two nations by withdrawing troops from Ukraine’s eastern border and the Crimean peninsula.

The big picture: Secretary of State Antony Blinken made the rounds on the Sunday talk shows and tried to temper expectations about the upcoming meeting between Biden and Putin, saying that it would not be a “flip-the-light switch moment” for U.S.-Russia relations.

• Biden himself told reporters on Sunday that he agreed with Putin’s recent comments that U.S.-Russia relations are at their lowest point in years, per Reuters.
• A recent ABC News/Ipsos poll found that 49% of Americans trust Biden to negotiate on their behalf with Putin.

But, but, but: Lawmakers from both parties want Biden to take a tough stance with Putin on the issue of ransomware gangs, and convey the message that if Russia doesn’t crack down on cyber criminals within its borders, the United States will, according to Politico.

• Putin has expressed willingness to hand over cybercriminals to the United States if the United States returns the favor, per Reuters.
• Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has also expressed reservations about the upcoming Biden’s decisions vis-a-vis Russia.

Of note: The issues of chemical weapons and cyberattacks are in the spotlight at this year’s G7 summit in light of the poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny with a chemical nerve agent and the ransomware attack on America’s Colonial Pipeline, reports Reuters.

• The Colonial Pipeline attack was carried out by Darkside, a Russia-based cybercrime group.
  

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  Source: https://www.axios.com/g7-leaders-russia-biden-65b0c496-7745-4489-a47c-1f062ffd150a.html

  [Disclaimer]

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Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson reacts as he meets with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel during the G7 summit in Carbis Bay, Cornwall, Britain, June 12, 2021. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls/Pool

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson stood firm in his position on post-Brexit trade with Northern Ireland in talks with French, German, and European Union leaders on Saturday, urging “pragmatism and compromise” to find a solution.

His spokesman told reporters other issues were raised in the talks with the leaders and rejected the idea that President Emmanuel Macron had demanded Britain stick to its divorce deal with the EU if it wanted a reset in relations with France.

Johnson, who is hosting a meeting of the G7 – the world’s most advanced economies – in southwestern England this weekend, is keen to downplay a row with the EU over their divorce agreement and put the focus on global issues.

But the spokesman said the so-called Northern Ireland protocol, part of the Brexit deal which covers trade with the British province, had been raised in talks with Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and EU leaders on Saturday.

“It’s important to stress again, with Macron and Merkel a number of issues were raised … The PM (prime minister) in all cases (expressed) confidence in the UK’s position as regards to the Northern Ireland protocol and the desire for pragmatism and compromise on all sides,” the spokesman said.

Asked about Macron’s proposal for a reset in relations if Britain showed it would abide by the Brexit deal it signed, he added: “That’s not how I would characterize the meeting this morning. The prime minister and President Macron agreed on the need to deepen the bilateral relationship between the UK and France … there was no dependence placed on that linked to the protocol.”

Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/johnson-called-compromise-nireland-eu-meetings-spokesman-2021-06-12/?rpc=401&

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